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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



013 789 088 4 



peRHUlTpg* 



IE 672 

.Y33 
ICopv 1 



General Grant's Military Services. 



SFE E CH 



HOK EICHAED YATES 



Of Illinois, 



In the United States Senate, Jdj 18, 1866. 




PUBLISHED BY THE UNION REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE, WASHINGTON, D, C. 



Mr. ■V^aLSOJS'. I now move to take up House Bill Nn. 3. ,„ r.„„,„itton 

Tte Hnuse Bill to revive the grade of Gencr.-.l in the United St.ates army was considered as in Comm.tteo 
of the Wliole. 

Mr. YATES addressed the Senate as follows : 

Mr. President, the war through which the country has just passed developed many great 
military men, whose names are .issociated with this or that particular campaign, or this or that 
particular field of battle. But, viewing the war from its commencement to its close, what man 
is there whose name, like that of Grant, is connected with almost every really effective military 
movement which marked its progress ? What a record is his ! How marvellous are the ways 
of Providence in the affairs of nations and of individuals! What changes, surpassing the 
enchantments of romance, may be seen in four short years ! Is it not a matter of profound 
wonder that a mail of such stoic -Bimplicity of character and of such surpassing modesty ; that 
the plain, unassuming, quiet citizen of Illinois, who five years ago sought the humblest. service 
in the armies of the Union, should prove to be the only man whose rare genius and energy rose 
in proportion to the colossal demands of tl«5 war; who should rise from the humblest clerkship 
and step by step aSccnd every grade of promotion to the exalted rank of Lieutenant General? 
Is it not strange that such should be the man who has conducted the most gigantic of all wars 
to a successful conclusion, and whose name glory-crowned with shining victories shall fill 
thousands of history's brightest pages .tnd live in'freedom'd anthems to ihe end of time? 

It would be affectation in me not to acknowledge a personal as well as State pnde in 
aiding the bill before the Senate with my voice and my vote. As a Senator from the State 
■where General Grant resides, which claims not only an interest in common with other States, 
but also a special and particular interest in the fame.oV her illustrious son, I feel it my duly to^ 
advocate this measure. Some remarks from me also may not be inappropriate on account of 
certain/personal and official relations in which I stood to him at the commencement of the war. 
In April, 1861, I first saw General Grant. I knew nothing of him. I did not then know 
that he had seen service in Mexico ; that he had fought at Palo Alto, Resaca dc la Palma, and 
at Monterey under General Taylor; or that he had served under General Scott in his memo- 
rable campaign from Vera Cruz to the city of Mexico ; or that he had been made first lieutenant 
on the field for gallantry at Jlolino del Rey, and hrevetted a captain for the gallant and skilful 
manner in which he had served a moiintaiu howitzer upon the heights of Ghapultcpec, under 
the observation of his regimental, brigade, and division commanders, as appears from the 
official reports of the h.attle by General Worth and other officers. 

In presenting himself to me he made no reference to any merits, but simply said he had been 
the recipient of a military education at West Point, and now that the country was assailed he 
thought it his duty to offer his services, and that he would esteem it a privilege to be assigned 
to an'j- position where he could be useful: I cannot now claim to myself the credit of having 
diacerned in him the promise of great achievements or the rjualities "which minister to the 



makin.' of cr«l nam«" more than ia mftny others who proposed to outer the military service. 
ms «,.;'*«r;n«. at firs. sigh, ii no. ..riking. He had no graud airs, no i.uposing appearance, 
and 1 cuul'ess it could no. he said he was a form 

•• Wht-re every gi") <11"1 seem to set bis seal 
To give tile world uasuraucc of a muii. " 
Ho was ..lain, very plain; but etill, sir, somethinir, l-"bai>s his plain, straigUtfor^vard modesty 
and «.racs.m-«s induced me .o assign him a desk iu the executive office. In a short ume I 
found bim to be an invaluable assistant iu my office, and in that of the adjutant general. He 
was .....n after as=igni-d to .he command of the six camps of organization and iustruclion which 
1 had established in the Suite. 

hUrly in June, 1801, I telegraphed him at Covington, Kentucky, (where he had gone on (i 
brief visit to his father,) tendering him the colonelcy of the Twcnty-first regiment of Illinois 
iufantrv, which he promptlv accepted.and on the 15th of June he assumed the command. The 
regimen, had U'come much demorulired from lack of discipline and contention in regard to 
promotions. Ou .bis account, Colonel (Jrant, being under marching orders, declined railroad 
transiK.ruuioD, and, for the s.ike of discipline, n.arche<i them on foot toward the scene ot oper- 
a.ions ill Missouri, and in a shorl .iiue he had his regiment under perfect control. 

He W.IS as.igui-d to the pioteetion of the (Juincy and I'almym, and the Hannibal and St. 
Joseph railroads, aud his success iu organizing the troops under his command, and his vigorous 
and successful prosecution of the campaign in north Missouri, soon procured for him the rank 
of bri -adier general. He was transferred to Cairo, the most important strategic point in the 
Missi-ippi vailev. and, after organizing bis aniiy with marvelous celerity, and infusing soon 
afu-r into these sud.lenlv raised troops the proiR'r esyrit Jt eorp., be marched upon Paducah and 
foudit the desi*rate battle of UeliuoDl. And here commenced that series of splendid victories, 
from Uelmonl to Lookout MounUiin, which turned the tide of our national fortunes, dispelled 
the g;,K>m and der^pondencv which .iefeat, poor Strategy, irresolution, inaction, and blunders 
had l.rounh. upon the country, lifted the veil and revealed to the Uepublic at last the man so 
much needed to lead her armies to complete aud final vicU)ry. 

At Ilelmont, at DoneU.m, and a. Shiloh, he broke ihe shAl in which secession sought 10 
shelter itself, and dis.iipa.ed ihe dreams of f.mcied southern invincibility. At Vicksbuig he 
probed its very vimls, and dejilroyed .he monsler in the Mississippi valley, never more to rise. 
The impoMaotf of Vicksburg as an objective point, and na affecting the destinies of the war, 
was fully seen by .he leaders of both contending powers. Jeff. Davis, aforetime, fully rcaliz. 
log (In- importance of Vicksburg as a straUgic i>oint, in a speech to the Mississippi Legislature, 
on the Oth of Decrnilicr, 1 Hii2, declared— 

••TtmllUafatlofVlrlcuhuri! Would ml off ihelrcommunlciillniin with Iho trans-Mlsslsslppl ilpporMnent, 
whnii-.- lliry Urow-vaiil nui'iillm. aiiJ would |..Tniallenlly sever llio eastern oml wcsleru. portions of the 



C»'llfril,Tivy.' 



Tlif e-iMhuslas.ie Sherman, with rare forenight, which has been verified by subseepient events, 
dcclar.'e), in a M'"-' b at Si. Louis, " The i)o»»e«i.ion of Vicksburg is the possession of America." 
Orant. aj evidcncTd by all bis plans and movements, wiui of the same opinion. 

New Orlciins w.u already oum, and I'ort Hudson, na a conseqncocc of our capture of Vicks- 
burs, KK.D fell Into <piir hand.. From Cairo to .New Orleans the greal river had been held by 
.hefD<iiiy, and the black banner of s.-cewion had llaunteel defiantly from all its strongholds; 
but now,' thanks to Genend Ornnt and his invincible armies, every fool on either shore was 
wr.»l" .1 froTi liim, and in tome fiftee-n battles, with no serious reverse lo our arms, the shattered 
^,1 -ionj of thi- enemy were driven from their supposed impregnable fortresses to 

,n,, . |H«i, lions remote from the riv.r, and millions of loyal hearts rejoiced that this 

great artrry of the continent, unvexe.! by ireasoirs barriers, was once more, and as we hope 
forei . r. rr.v. .S, «rcelv 1™ im|>ortnnt were the camimigns of General Granl terminating in the 
l.rii: , of Lookout Moiinuin and Missionary Kidge, and securing to us the perraa- 

n,„, ..f Chattanooga, which was regarde.1 by military men of both armies as the 

next niosi im|«rtant stniK-gic point in the rcbe-l States, and it wa.s made the base of that mag- 
nificent miliiarv movement, whirh is wilhoul a parallel in the annals of war, when Sherman 
and hi. veteran warriors swept like an avalancbo from AtlanUi to the sea through the very 
bear, and home of treason. 



The successes of Grant in the West Glkd the nation's cup of joy, and Tresidcnt Lincoln 

us of old Marathon : 

" 4.S on that morn to dUtant glory dear, 
The camp, the host, the flghi, the conqueror's career. 

The flying Mede, his shafltess. broken bow. 
The HerV Oreck, hli red pursuiiis spear; 

Mountains above, earth's, ocean's plains below; 
•Death in the front, destruction in the rear." 

Now is not the time, nor this the place, but it is for the historian in^ ^^^ f^^o.^ 
the shining record of Grant, .ritten in the triumphs '^^^^J^^^^^^^Z^^t ' b ood and 
burg, Chattanooga, the Wilderness, and the ^ °ffXt« and memories of the loyal 
sacriBces of our living and ^•-g'^'-'-V/Hale wTtehed o. r -der as with resolute front, 
n.ilUons..ho, amid alternate hope and f^^;.^" JofgJo" -d despondence to the day of 
step by step, he has led the nation through the night ol gloo" f 

final and glorious deliverance. . . , , u • i 

i,,„„rn,Totn!,hicrhrl'='™- Amidst the most horrid cain.age 

General Grant possesses personal conrage to a h gh d = ^^ 

and the wildest tumult of battle he was .nn-turb b, 1 ^ ^= ^^^^ ^^^^ 

an movements on the '^^'';-' ^^^J' "^^^ orl column wavering, where his personal 
time if he saw a weak point '^^i ' "« "J'^-^^^ -^^ „, dash like a McDonald to the head 

presence might inspire <^°."™/;' f ^ ;' ^^"/',be Cght and hold up the standard upon the last 
of that column, plunge into 'he thiAe.^^^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^.^^ ^^^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^ ^^^^^_ ^^^ 
outpost/of danger and dea,i.^^ag.ner^ ^^.^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^_^^^^^ ^ and whose head- 

bring out the full figh.i g strcn Oi^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ ^.^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^_ ^^^.^^^ ^^^^^ 

quarters are not in the hel>L.^^^^. ^^^^^^.^^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^.^ ^^^^^^^ commanders 
the heights, or face tte m^o^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^.^^_ Understanding this. Grant dashed along 
sharing their or une i ^^,^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^^.^^ ^^_^^.^^ rallying his men, who were con- 

the hues at Belmont, and L^^^.^ snddenlv re-enforced by fresh battalions, and a 

founded by the double r-" „ ", . i ,-, , i 

., , . e „.„;„PtvS from their artillery at Belmont and Columbus. 

terrible storm of project;* „, , , , i- 

^j .ttsburg Landing— a black and terrible day— all day he rode along his 

On the first '^J' " / .^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ t^^^pg ^g gt^y ^■^,^ gtormy tide of disaster which was 

decimated lines -y^ / ^^^^^ Shiloh's dark and bloody woods to the water's edge. I sat on ray 

beating them "■'^'^K Y^^ Gibson, upon an eminence where our artillery was posted, and where 

horse near ^im at ^^^ ^^^^.^^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^ enemy's musketry and artillery. While he was 

he was e'^POsed / ^^^ patiently vraiting for the assault of Osterhaus's division as it moved 

surveying the hr ^. ^^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^,j^^ j^^^ j^^^gg^^ themselves in their full strength ujion the 

upon the main t^^^^^.^^^^ ^^^^^ suddenly the batteries and musketry of the enemy opened 

Grand Gult "J^^^^^^f ^^^j „„,^ ^,,,,1 „„i higsj^g Miuie-balls on the point at which we were 

and poured si^^^^ ^^^ ^^.^^ ^ regiment of ours held in reserve at that point, and which was 

'^° h ' o^ed w ordered to seek shelter in a r.avine close by, Grant, seemingly insensible to 

much expc? , ^^^^^ ^^.^ ^.^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ watched the movements of the contending forces. 

danger, qai^ Jj^^ ^^^ jocosely, "Governor, it's too late to dodge after the ball has passed." 

Only once ^^^^ ^.^^^^.j^^ ^^^ ,bc thought of personal danger did not seem once to have entered 

I watcie >^^ ^ j^^,g^(j.^ J f^^^ j^y^,^ relieved when after a short interview with General Raw- 

.'* "'° ■ , ■ f staff, he said, " Governor, we will go and order Logan up." 

Was not ' ^ courageous spirit who, with fame already secure by the bright record of a 



himdred victories, dared to accept tlie crushing responsibility of commanding the Army of the 
Potomac, where so many generals had been sacrificed, and where so many bloody reverses had 
aimost ■dispirited the army and shrouded the laud in mourning? Here he was to confront the 
flower of the rebel army, led by their greatest commander, who, in' their estimation, wore the 
charm of invincibility. Here he must contend with a foe which, up to this time, had courage- 
ously maintained his position, elated by the success of several victories and dashing raids, and 
who now to the pride of victory had added the fierce courage which despair inspires in men 
fighting for the last rampart left them by adverse fate. But wiih the same unselfish spirit 
wliich had animated his whole life he did not pause to count the consequences to himself, but 
came at the call of his country. He accepted the lieretoforc fatal command, and his watchword 
was " On to Richmond !" as before it had been " On to Vicksburg \" Self-reliant, he formed 
his own plans, and started out on a route wliich had already been condemned by our military 
naen. His first battle in the Wilderness appalled the world at the sight of its sanguinary 
slaujihter. I think it almost safe to say that no General living save Grant himself would, after 
such di-eadful slaughlei- and in the face of so many frowning obstacles, have persevered in the 
plan which he had marked out for himself. Uut Grant did persevere. From the beginning 
his method had been to move on the enemy's works wherever he could find them, and if he 
could not utterly overwhelm and destroy him in every instance, yet he considered himself 
Buccesoful if he mainuiued his ground and as much loss was inflicted upon the enemy as he 
himself received. 

Grant's intuition taugu him tliat it was a question of endurance, a contest between the 
patient, stubljorn courage of i>e Korth and the enthusiustic dash of the South,- and that victory 
would necessarily reward that larty which with greatest loss could yet continue the contest. 
To him it was the two-handed s-ord of Ca'ur dc Lion against tlie flashing cimeter of the 
Paladin ; it was the axe of the Norsv^an thundering on the light shield of the Saxon or the 
Celt. I cannot better illustrate his iu-^ di.m i,y quoting from his official report, iu which, 
with great clearness, he indiuales part of h.. ^imi . 

" To Imninier coiitlnuall.v against the armed fore, gf jjjg eaemy and «ls resources, until by mere attrition, 
If in no oiliL-r way, ilicre slioalil be uotbiiis lelt to biu.i,m ^^ equal subm'ssion witb the loyal portloa of our 
common country ta the Constitution and laws." * 

And so, though the first battle of the Wilderness,uay have been a drawn battle, and though 
in the second our loss was counted by tliousauds u^q thousands of our slaughtered heroes 
though nature seemed iu league with treason against u. and frowning batteries, inpregnable 
fortifications, impenetrable swamps, and tangled thickets ■ontonted him at every step of his 
chosen path,' while from the cover of every shrub, tree, and roi^, an unseen foe "assailed him 
with storms of bullets, and hundreds of cannon poured their m,.^grous fire upon his army 
still relying upon himself and his plans with a confidence that was ,x,iime, he pressed forward, 
nnd coolly telegraphed to the Secretary of War, " I propose to fi^t it out on this lino if it 
takes all summer." 

Sir, he did fight it out on that line, for though Lee, in his blaspL^^yg ^j.^^.^ pf jj^^ j^ 
said, " The heroic valor of this army, with the blesssiug of Almighty Gc i^^s thus far checked 
the principal army of tlie enemy, and inflided ni>on it terrible losses, ygj^ gj^^ ^.^^ j,^ ^^^ 
Lee was driven back toward Richmond, an unwilling witness to the skill, s-ategy, and tenacity 
of bis unconquerable antagonist. 

His tenacity of will is wonderful. He is never whipped. If his loss? ai greater than the 
enemy, or if he has drawn back, still he is not whipped, lie will not ai^iit hat there is any 
obstacle. While the great Lincoln with long strides nervously paced his «(ecutve chamber at 
midnight aud mourned as unpropitious to the plans of Grant the storm wh\(i heat, iu mad fuiT 
upon the roof and along the corridors and upon the window-panes of th\yv'hitt House yet 
Grant accepts the situation, and uses the storms of heaven as his applianc. ^s he did most 
effectually on the third day of the battle of the Wilderness. It never could . g^id of him as 
of the great Napoleon at Waterloo, that a sho\fer of rain had lost him a battle, ' 

Mr. Pre3idcnt,while Gen. Grant is possessed of extraordinary courageand teat^y ^f purpoae 
it must not for a moment lie supposed that these constitute his chief claim to g\tness I am 
here to claim for him military strategy of the highest order; what facts anLgj,j(g ^^ 
established aud what history will proudly vindicate — that wonderful power whiito {^-^ rna. 



have exhibited in the prca. contests of na.ion,-the genius .hich ,v„h comprol.en.Ive g anco 
sw p over vast fields of eonflict. perceives the grand objective poinU, "™"B- -^^;;™^°^ 
Improper forces, provides against the contingencies which make up so much "f - .^-'- 
Z erel^- detail of the most complicated plan, and with certain presc.ence commands all needful 
actncies to move in synchronous march upon the enemy. 

The success of bis Mississippi campaign is not to be attributed to courap alone but to that 
grai; s ™tegy displayed in a thorough understanding of the plan,, pos.uons, and tr,ovemcnt 
of the enemv and in making such a disposition of bis own forces as to emply and thwarl be 
Imv a. evcrv ,K.int, and yet to keep pressing inevitably and irres.st.b y forward upon h , 
owriine toward Vicksburg, the objective point of all hi, o,K.rat,ons. It was °ot ^'"'I'ly to 
Tive he enemv from Belmont, Island No. 10, Fort Henry. Memphis, and to fight h,. way 
St gh down .he Mississippi by storming him in every stronghold-.h.s he could do w.thh.s 
Ivincible legion, of the Northwest, and this he did do in a series of sh.n.ng v,cton« wh.ch 
bla on the annate of the war-but he had also to take in his plan, a vast terntory of host, e 
5 a s; ,heCnmbe.iand, the Tennessee, and the Arkan«.s, from their "-; ^ ° '^^ ^^^ 
lane'.-- and to cut off the enemv in all b.teral directions upon h.s .nte nor Imes, keep .plus 
Iwnba^e lines, and leave no Vnemy in his rear to overrun Illinois M.ssoun, -^ sou-^-- 
Kentnckv and he displaved the greatest military genius by such a d.sposmon of h s forces 
and snc'f ,\mely movem'e nts as not only to carry victory along the banks of the M.ss.ss.pp. but 
tocarrvi. in a broad belt on either side, until (Inally he could and d.d concentrate all the 
divisions of his armv to the overthrow of the reW Gibmlt..r-V.cksburg. 

Hi« decisions were rapid and quick ; he laid the whole field before him cle«r as a map^nnd 
turned the severest reverse, and most formidable obstacles to advantage by .n, ant and t;.p.d 
on" .inations. It was mv good fortune to witness his operation, before the capture of ^ .ck^ 
burg Having succeeded with great labor and diffiultvin '-'P-'-.^Vtl'TMsSS 
intLte bavou, and swampy roads to a point below Vicksburg, he conce.yed the - "''^^^ 
of supplving them with stores and heavy ordnance, and ,«ih tran,portat,on of ^c ' "O^ '^ 
runnin.his gunboats and transports by the batteries at night. The prenp.tous chfTs for m 1« 
above a'nd below the city were lined with tiers of heavy artillery, and r.He p.ts swarmmg with 
in rv down the water's .I.e. Every preparation had been made for the ..r.lous enterr.,^^ 
Night closed in with rayless darkness. I stood with Grant upon the -^-l;;;; ^J ^'^^ ^^^ 
the middle of the Mississppi, from which he kept an eye to the movement, of h.s fle I. wa^ 
then I saw sights men ratllv see. Eight gunboats and three ,r..n«ports dropped qn.Cly .nto the 
chlnn. and noated down the current. Suddenly the batteries and nfle p.U opened the:r 
m Uanr,,; fire, while the gunboaU returned from heavy guns ^-<l-^\^; »^'" »>-' f ^^ 
the .Vvoted citv The whole bluffs were a bla^e of fire. Indeed, s.r, .t looked as .f a m.ghty 
walitftghtning from earth to sky stood still and motionless, while deep thunders roUed, 

reminding one of the scene — 

•• When Jove from I<l»> top hl» hnrror vpnaA» : 
•mirk llKlitnlnip flash; .>ie mutlorlnit tliunders roH 
Will'' o'er Iho ftpld. lileli hiMiiiK t« 1>H' »'!>". 
And o'er tlie for^t rolls the flood of Are ; 
And • dreodrul (tlcomert the fore of Iron war '.' " 

t.„r boat,, contrary to my expectation,, safely passed below and so f" G"'"^ ''^1'/ 
h..d not faile-i. But s.iU greater obstacles confronted him and he m..,t — » ° J^ ^^ ^ 
Before he could attack Vicksburg from below. Grand Gulf must be t.akem Grand Gul was a 
«ronglv fortified position at the mouth of the Big Black river, and here Grant gave a stnk.ng 
Sav of his straugic skill whi,h attracted the attention ''^ f'^^yj^Z^V^'^;^ 
which proved to be a pivot on which turnc-d the mightiest events, resulU, and dc»t.n.es of the 

'"' On the morning of April 'iO the six gunboat, moved down the river to thea.^«xul., while 
the uan!:;rts. witl the Lop, on board, followed, ready to debark and storm the .. b.sj 
.oon a, the batteries should he silenced. Our gunboats, under the command of that p^t 
Tva. commander. Porter, ran close in shore, under the enemy's guns w.. .n V^^^^ 
poured their broadsides upon his works, to which the enemy ^I>°";^<^'^ "'''\";3; ''"f 7, 
the throats of his heavy guns on the heights above. From a tug-boat .n the m.ddle of the 



■stream we witnessed the seene. All around, distinctly visible to the naked eye, we could see 
the cannon balls flying through the air, skipping in wild leaps along the surface of the river, 

while — ■ , , , • 

" Howling and screeching and whizzing 

The bomb-shells arched on high ; 

And then, like fiery meteors, 

Dropped swiftly from the sky." 

But the batteries could not be silenced, and Grand Gulf could not be stormed. After four 
hours bombardment we boarded the flag-ship Benton, and Grant, after a short interview with 
Admiral Porter, seemingly on the instant decided upon a eoiij) de main, which proved his power 
as a strategist, and from the jaws of defeat he snatched the standard of victory. 

He ordered his troops to debark, and marched them to a point below Grand Gulf, ran the 
batteries with his boats, embarked his troops again, crossed the river and tought the battle ol 
Port Gibson, gaining the first of that splendid series of victories which terminated in the fall 
of Vicksliurg. ' Here, again, Grant adapted himself to the circumstances of the case, and made 
a plan of his own contrary to that which had been laid down for him at Washington. I pre- 
sume General Grant never received a higher compliment, or one that he so much prized, as that 
contained in a letter of Mr. Lincoln of July 3, 18C3. Mr. Lincoln said ; 

** When yon got below and took Port Gibson and Grand Gulf, I thought you should go down the river 
andjoin General Banks; and when you turned northward, east of Big Black, I feared inwts a failure. I now 
wish to make a personal acknowledgment to you, that you were right and I was wrong." 

Grant had great confidence in the pluck and metal of his army, and he considered (lie victory 
was h.alf won whenever he made up his mind to let the br.ave Illinoians and other troops of 
the Northwest go into the battle. His policy was to "let 'em fight," and to fight the enemy 
wherever he could find him. Still it cannot be laid to his charge that he was reckless of the 
lives of his officers and men, for he never asked them to go where he was not willing to lead. 
In the battles of the Wilderness he did not, as has been charged, run heedlessly upon the 
intrenchraents of the enemy. He resorted to flanking movements, concentrating his strength 
first upon one wing and then upon another ; or, having divided the forces of the enemy, he 
threw his whole force like an av.alanche upon the centre, and drove him back to new positions, 
until, dispirited and besieged, the confederate cajiital fell like ripened fruit into his hands. 

When he assumed supreme command as Lieulenant General he changed radically the whole 
plan of our military operations. He discontinued the plan of independent spasmodic move- 
ments by our different armies — a plan which had enabled the enemy to move as upon a pivot, 
and to confront our divided forces now at one point and then at another, and to baflSe us by a 
su])erior concentration of his forces. But, sir, I read from his own report to show what this 
policy was, which all now see was necessary to turn the tide of fortune in our favor. He says : 

" I tberefore determined first to use the greatest number of troops practicable against the armed forces 
ot the enemy, preventing him from using the same force at different seasons against first one and then 
auotlier ol'our armies, and the possibility of repose for refitting and producing necessary supplies for carry- 
ing on resistance." 

The anaconda, of which so much had been said early in the war, was no longer a myth. If 
he was not the author of the comprehensive idea conveyed by that word to the public ruind, he 
was the first to vitalize and make it real. He did not simply move forward the Armv of the 
Potomac, but for the purpose of employing the enemy at every point, and prcventinn- "the con- 
centration of his forces upon any given point. General Grant set in motion all the armies of the 
Union — Sherman against Johnson ; Butler moved up the James ; Sigcl up the Shenandoah 
valley ; Banks against Shrevesport ; Sheridan against Early ; and other generals in their ap- 
propriate places, in the mighty dr.ama which ended in the death of the rebellion. 

Mr. President, when the history of this war is carefully read, with the map of the cam- 
paigns before you ; when all the details of departmental organization are understood ; and 
when all the orders, correspondence, and dispatches are properly weighed; when all the co- 
operative movements of the various divisions of his armies are carefully studied • the vast ter- 
ritory he had to overlook, to conquer, and to defend ; vast communications by land and water ■ 
immense supjilies and transportation to be provided ; a confronting enemy, ever vigilant, brave' 
confident, commanded by skilful leaders; and all the splendid results of his great plane are 
considered, we may truthfully ]ironounce him the model commander of the age in which he' 
lives. I know well the secret of his power, for when I saw him at headquarters, upon the 
march, and on the battle-field, in his plain, threadbare uniform, modest in his deportment 
careful of the wants of the humblest soldier, ]icrsonally inspecting all the dispositions and 
divisions of his army, calm and courageous amid the most destructive fire of the enemv ii 
was evident that he had the confidence of every man, from the highest ofiBcer down to the 
humblest drummer-boy, in his command. 

He also judged men with the most unerring accuracy, so that when the choice lay with him 
he always selected the right man in the right jilace. General John A. Rawlins, Chief of Staff 
has on all occasions displayed genius of the highest order, is one of the best and noblest of 
men, and in every resjiect worthy of his Great Chief. The other members of bis stiff were 
men of merit, and fully equal to the great emergencies they had to encounter. Need \ mention 



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poet thus characterises this popular caprice in the sudden transfer of the popular favor from the 
defeated Pompey to the victorious Cicsar, by words put into the mouth of a tribune of the 
people: 

" Wherefore rejoice? What conquests brings he home? 

What tribiitui-ies follow him to Itorae 

To Krace in captive bonds his chariot-wheels? 

You blocks, yon stones, you worse than senseless things 

O. you hard hearts, you cruel men of Rome, 

Know ye not l*ompcy? Mauy a time and oft 

llaveyou climbt-d up to walls and battlements, 

To towers ami windows, yea, to chimney-tops, 

Your infants in \,iur arms, and there have sat 

The live-louK day. wi;lt patient expectation, ^ 

Tasec great I*unipej' pass thestreetsof Rome; ^ 

And wlieu you saw his eharjot but appear. 

Have .von not made Jiu universal shout, 

Tliat 'I'iber trembled underneath her banks 

To iiefir the reitllcation of your sounds 

Jtade in her concave shores? 

Aud do you now put on your best attire? 

And do you now cull out a holiday? 

Aud do you now strew llowers in his way 

That comes in triumph over Pompey s blood? 

Begone ! 

Run to your bouse, fall upon your knees, 

Pray to the gods to intermit the plague 

That needs must light on this ingratitude," 

Mr. President, never let it be said that this Republic shall incur the shame of ingratitude to 
public beucfttctors which spreads a cloud over the bright glories of the great republics of the 
past. 

But, Mr. President, I should not finish the picture were I to stop here. Grant is free from 
inordinate ambition, and from many of the faults and vices which have sullied the character ot 
many others who have been chronicled as great men in history. He is an honest man • he is 
' penile and kind, magnanimous to the vanquished; of rugged virtue; stern simplicity 'plain 
republican manners; true to freedom, without regard to caste; spotless purity of life and 
elevated devotion to country ; standing out before the world as Washington and Lincoln stood 
an ever-present aud sublime illustration of the fact that exalted greatness and exalted .^oodness 
are one and inseparable. " 

I do not wish to deal in panegyric. I know that Grant cares as little for it as any man 
He never sought glory. There is uolhing about him of the pomp or vaingloriousness or dare 
which men call glory. All that he desires is truth. He is the last man who would hav'e as- 
cribed to h.m achievements which he never wrought, or praise for words he never uttered As 
wc look upoti llmt calm, reticent, statue-like figure, it is h.ard to realize that he is the man who 
stood eelf-poised and unmoved by the discordant elements of the great revolution throur^h 
In,' J- """f ••'"f-"'' ""^JV"' ">« <:<=»«j»'y "f f«'e diiected the destiny of a continent. But 
me, which at hist sets all things even, will reveal him to the world and blazon him greater in 
history than Alexander whose ambition the contjuest of a world did not satisfy ; n-rcater than 
Ca-s,|r, who sacnliced tlie glory of republican Rome for the pageantrv of universal empire and 

^TX'im;:.'ri,il'';ur;r' "'" '"'"'■' '•" ""°"^^ "°° '^^ "^'^ ^^^^-^ f- ^^^ -"> mar;ifi;.ence 



Grant welcomed the end of conquest as a national blessing. His name will go shinina 
down the ages lustrous wkh the halo of great achievements and%f great hTnelncf whouf 
strain of selfishness; and will be enshrined in the hearts of the coming millions a tli^ man to 
whom we arc most indebted for the success of our arms, the triumph oHmth and liberty and 
the preservation of our national Union. "uerty, ana 



OiMos BaoTHSBs, PBISTKB9, Washington, D. C. 



iKr^' ?' ^^NG-'ESS 



eiSTssS't 



